Historical commission takes next step in  courthouse renovation
Tyler County Booster - September 2007

Tyler County moved one step closer last week to a restored courthouse as Tyler County Historical Commission members heard presentations from four architects, one of whom will be presented to Tyler County Commissioners Wednesday as the Historical Commission’s choice for developing a Master Plan for the project.
  The restoration project, which Historical Commission member Ben Bythewood said would ultimately cost up to $7 million dollars, would return the present courthouse to the way it appeared in 1891. If the project is approved by the state, up to $6 million of the cost would come from the state. The rest of the money would have to come from the county.
  While that seems like a lot of money for the county to contribute to a restoration project, Bythewood noted that with the speed the present courthouse is decaying, the county faces much more significant expenditures in the future if it does nothing, expenditures it would have to fund itself without the state’s help. By combining historical restoration and preservation efforts, the county will save significant local money, while Tyler County gets a courthouse that will be functional and attractive to tourists.
  Tyler County Courthouse is one of the oldest Texas courthouses still unrestored. The State Historical commission, backed by $62 million the legislature has appropriated for these projects, has helped fund many of these restoration efforts around the state. Tyler County Historical Commission members are hopeful that, by restoring the courthouse to the original 1891 appearance, they will have a good chance of securing funding when the legislature again meets.
  Three Houston Architectural Firms and one from Austin made presentations to Historical Commission members last week. Stern & Bucek Architects - represented by Bill Stern and David Bucek, Jr.- Baily Architects, represented by Gerald Moorehead, and Graham B. Luhn, were the Houston firms. Volz & Associates, represented by John Volz, came from Austin.
  If accepted, the state would fund the entire project, but initial funding will be spent on preparing the plans and specifications, which would fix the price of the entire project. The entire project would take about four years, Bythewood said. He also said that net usable space would stay about the same after the restoration as some current offices are moved to the J.B. Best building.
            Tyler County Historical Commission members include Sandy Hargrove - Chairman, Gayle and Peggy Burton, Jack and Mayne Whitmeyer, Jewel Bell, Spencer James, Ben Bythewood, Mike Paddy, Jessie Collins, Mary Nell Rainey, Mayme Brown and  Elton Lawrence.